Help a Struggling Teen Fund Travels to NYC

Tom Harbinson Start Date: Sep 2, 2023 - End Date: Mar 1, 2024
  • New York, NY, United States of America

My Travel Story

by: Tom Harbinson Start Date: Sep 2, 2023 - End Date: Mar 1, 2024
Hi, my name is Tom and I am from Northern Ireland and I am 19 years old.

This year has been one of the toughest of my life. I’ve dealt with several demons including my severely bad mental health, pressuring exams, as well as some personal family dilemmas.

It’s my dream to be a filmmaker when I’m older and I’ve actually been accepted into university but I have decided to decline my offer this year and take a gap year instead. The reason for that is because I, without being melodramatic, feel physically and mentally drained after the year I’ve had and I don’t feel like it would be beneficial for me to go right back into school at this time, which brings me to the reason I’m fundraising…

For as long as I can remember, moving and living in New York City has been a dream of mine. “Empire State of Mind” was my favourite song when I was younger so it comes as no surprise that I feel a strong connection to it. Of course, in a perfect world, I would pack my bags, find a giant luxury apartment, and move to NYC in a flash, but unfortunately I don’t live in a perfect world.

I’ve emailed every hostel I could find in the city to ask about a possible work exchange program, where I would work in a hostel doing general housekeeping, reception duties, etc. in exchange for accommodation and thankfully I’ve gotten a few replies which takes a lot of pressure off finding somewhere to stay.

However, it’s no secret that this trip will be expensive. I have saved up about £1,000 but with flights, applying for a visa, as well as general living costs in such a big city, I’m unsure if this small amount will last.

So - to sum up, I’m simply asking you to give whatever you can - absolutely anything. I am not expecting to become a millionaire from this.

With the year from hell I’ve had, I feel like I owe it to myself to do something I’ve always wanted to do. I am going to take this time to work on being a better, happier version of myself in every way and hopefully when I come back, I will be.

Thank you so much for reading. X
  • New York, NY, United States of America